Park free or not, that is the question (From Gazette & Herald)

Park free or not, that is the question

SOME of you knowledgeable music folk of the jazz era may have wondered who Sidney Becket was in the issue of February 8 and then, I expect, realised who was meant by this unknown name.

Well, it did leave my typewriter as Sidney Bechet but by the time it appeared in print had become somewhat different. I wondered if it was something to do with these all-singing, all-dancing machines which claim to correct spelling errors for you, and depending on the way you are thinking and their country of origin, don't always come up with the right results.

Rather like a letter I had this week from a large national company who, following my comments on one of their products, responded in a way which showed they had not understood what I had said, although it ended with their thanks and the words, "we have enclose sum vouchers". I'm not sure who to blame for that. Would a computer recognise the mistakes? Could someone with a poor command of English be responsible?

There's some very outspoken comments in the same issue, from town managers to fox hunting, and from politics to dog dirt. All good stuff, and just the stuff that makes local papers so interesting. Town management is something which not many folk around here, I suspect, have any experience of and to the layman, what, I wonder, does he expect to happen as a result of their appointment? In an ideal situation, all our empty shops should be occupied and thriving, and the town a bit more 'bustling' than it is. But then, asks the man in the street, "What about me? I'm not a shopkeeper, or businessman. What have all those thousands of pounds done for me?" And the answer is, of course, that a healthy, busy town should enable it to prosper which, in turn, rubs off on the facilities which can be offered to its residents, enabling a steady rate income to keep them at a non-inflationary level and so, in theory, everyone benefits. I see it in the nature of an experiment, with hopes for a rosy future.

To park free, or not? That is the question. And as the issue is so divided, one must perhaps take a middle road. I buy an annual ticket, which is really excellent value for money, allowing me to park in all of Ryedale's market towns. It seems rather a lot of money when it comes up for renewal, but divided by the 52 weeks it covers, it's pretty fair. If I were to consider going to some town for the afternoon, I wouldn't base my decision on whether or not the parking was free. I would just go, and dependent on the rate per hour would, perhaps, adjust my stay there. If car parks are for visitors' use, the local resident is heard to say: "Why do I have to pay for car park maintenance for outsiders to use, especially when I have to pay through the nose to park in places around us?" Here we come back to the shopkeepers again, who rely on car-borne customers and perhaps the 'middle-of-the-road' answer would be, as has been suggested on many occasions, that two hours be allowed free of charge. Whether this should be limited to residents only, I can't make my mind up. However, one thing which is always in my mind is that someone has to pay for maintenance and repairs to the park, and it seems fair that this should fall on those who use the parks.

I always enjoy Dale's Diary, and in this edition, she talks about visiting the capital city on the Countryside March, and wonders what to wear. Absolutely non-political, she can't wear red, for obvious reasons, and, equally so, either blue or yellow, although she might well, being a country person, get away with shades of green. The colours of the parties doesn't worry me too much, for the simple reason that they are all 'everyday' colours, but I won't forgive the knavery of the embezzlement of the Rose of England, and using it for the party emblem. This means no one can now wear their favourite flowers in a buttonhole, for fear people think it is for political reasons and not simply because one happens to like a rose.

Is this an infringement of civil liberty, I wonder? An astute lawyer might well say it is.

Then we have two columns on the subject of dog dirt, and rightly so. Responsible dog owners are seen to carry a plastic bag and remove it from the footway, but there are those who thumb a finger at the law. A regular visitor along the footpaths skirting my house is, judging by the deposits left behind, a large dog, and it has its favourite stopping-off points. This, as the Norton resident in the article complained of, gets onto footwear, sometimes clothes, or into the house or car, and is totally inconsiderate of other people. The fine, as shown on a sign on a nearby post, is a maximum of £1,000, yet, unfortunately, the dog in question can't read. Neither can its owner, I suspect, so until someone is better educated, keep a watch out underfoot.

Just a thought: "Politics is the science of how who gets what, when and why". (Sidney Hillman 1887-1946. US trade unionist.)

Updated: 17:09 Friday, February 23, 2001